4/23/2014

UAE company transforms lives of men with special needs | The National

UAE company transforms lives of men with special needs

Jennifer Bell March 24, 2014 Updated: March 24, 2014 22:00:00 ABU DHABI // Green-fingered Ahmed Farag is busy planting bulbs in plastic pots filled to the brim with soil, his head bowed in concentration. The gardener is one of 37 people with special needs who are employed by the Desert Group. The Dubai horticultural company has changed the lives of young males with mental disabilities by offering them employment and integration into society. The landscaping company is one of many showing the work they do with specialneeds people at the ABILITIESme conference, which began on Monday. It aims to show how to integrate people with disabilities and special needs into mainstream society. Ahmed, 30, who has Down syndrome, explains that the job has enriched his life. I feel happy, he says. I feel happy for having some responsibility. I feel happy for learning how to do something good. I feel happy for knowing how to work with soil and do the mixing. I feel I learn a lot of social skills. The job has also given Ahmed a social responsibility, explains Ibrahim Ali, a special education expert at the landscaping company. Desert Group began a corporate responsibility initiative in 2006 to provide jobs for mentally impaired young men, predominately Emiratis. Staff at the centre help to train the men with speech and behavioural therapy, and give them skills to perform various jobs at the centre, such as gardening, sales and customer service. Emirati Hareb Ali, 25, proudly hands out business cards showing he is a sales representative at the nursery a job given to the advanced participants. His beaming smile indicates his love for his five-day working week.
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Topic UAE Topics, Dubai

4/23/2014

UAE company transforms lives of men with special needs | The National

My best part of the day is working. I love working, Hareb says. Basil Samir, from Syria, is also one of the six sales representatives at the company, where he has worked for two years. I am selling lots of types of plants and fruit, says Basil, 21, reeling off a long list of products on sale at the nurseries where he works. I enjoy the work. Another salesman, Jafar Abdulla, says meeting the customers is his favourite part of his six-hour working day. I like to deal with the customers. I feel self-confidence, says Jafar, 19. I love the nursery. Reem Al Ghaith, corporate social responsibility manager at Desert Group, hopes that by showing the talents of the specialneeds workers at the ABILITIESme conference, other companies will follow suit. I brought the nursery from Dubai to Abu Dhabi for everyone to see and to open up doors for others, Ms Al Ghaith says. That is why we are here, to show how professional they can be. With the right kind of training and infrastructure they can be productive employees and will be very loyal to their job, and they can easily interact with others if they are just given the chance. Ms Al Ghaith says she wants other companies to see what a valuable asset those employed at the Desert Group are. We want to invite companies to come and see them and how they work in real life, she says. We are here to create that kind of awareness in the corporate society. Since the programme was launched more than seven years ago the employees have flourished, Ms Al Ghaith says. It motivates them and gives them a boost, and gives them a sense of satisfaction that they can be productive in society and earn a living, she says. Supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs Community Development Authority, Desert Group sources the employees from special-needs centres across Dubai. The employees start at entry level until they are confident enough to interact with customers and complete sales transactions, Ms Al Ghaith says. Then they are eligible for the graduate level job of sales representatives. ABILITIESme ends on Wednesday. jbell@thenational.ae

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